Personal Injury Claims Bristol Blog

Robert Blackwell, 19, from Hayway Lane, Bampton, Oxfordshire, has been given a 4 year jail sentence after admitting dangerous driving resulting in the death of schoolgirl, Liberty Baker, 14, on 30 June.  Blackwell’s car mounted the pavement killing Liberty and injuring 2 of her friends as they walked to school in Witney, Oxfordshire.  Blackwell admitted causing death by dangerous driving and inflicting serious injury by dangerous driving, and admitted to having smoked cannabis on the day before taking to the road.  The incident took place in Curbridge Road and also involved Paul Cracknell who was walking on the pavement behind the girls.  Mr Cracknell is still receiving treatment for the serious leg injuries which he sustained.

A woman that was hit by a police car that was responding to a 999 call has been left with “possibly life-threatening injuries”.  The 33-year-old woman, who remains unnamed, was hit at a junction just outside the centre of Bristol city centre last night (Saturday 29 November).  Police were responding urgent reports concerning a man making threats with a knife when the accident happened.

38-year-old Joanna Rose was left with life-changing injuries after a car hit her during her honeymoon in Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca.  She suffered a broken spine, five broken ribs, internal bleeding and serious bruising.  The accident happened when her and her husband were walking along the side of the road and a car hit her from behind.  Mrs Rose is now seeking compensation for the rehabilitative treatment she will require.

A chemical leak has left a man in hospital.  A delivery driver phoned firefighters yesterday morning with the fear that there was a chemical leak inside his vehicle. The van had been delivering a heavy duty acidic de-scaler to a house in Ashbury, near Faringdon, when the incident happened. It is believed that the dangerous chemical leaked out through the packaging and into the delivery van, affecting the driver.

The widow of a former dockyard worker who died as a result of asbestos exposure has appealed for information surrounding her late husband’s working conditions.  Kenneth Strong died at age 80 after battling mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos exposure, for five-months. His wife Jean is appealing to her husband’s colleagues to assist in an investigation into the working conditions of the dockyard.

It has recently been identified by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) that the platforms of many train stations slope towards the tracks. A spokesperson from the branch said that the rail industry has not identified this as a problem, despite it having caused numerous accidents.  With reports ranging from a child in a pushchair to a wheelchair user rolling onto the tracks, the majority of the reports laid the blame on the passengers involved.

With over 150 people in England affected by Salmonella over the last few months, Public Health England is investigating the possible sources. Tests have already revealed that all the cases are linked to one particular source, but this has not yet been identified. The illness is usually linked to foods such as eggs and poultry, causing diarrhoea, stomach pains, sickness and fever.  Most people are able to recover without treatment; however, one hospital has reported three deaths in relation to the outbreak.

The families of 28 injured schoolchildren have launched legal action just over a month after two buses collided during their school runs.  The accident happened in County Durham on the 3^rd of June when one bus, taking children to Tanfield School, crashed into another bus that had been taking children to St Bede’s School.  The two buses crashed head-on in Lanchester, with two drivers and 28 children taken to hospital as a result.

A recent inspection at a West Haddon care home has made some worrying findings concerning health and safety precautions.  Foxhill Manor Nursing Home currently provides long-term Nursing Care to 34 patients, Respite Care and Day Care 7 days a week; however, the Care Quality Commission inspectors found numerous faulty appliances, scalding tap water and broken windows at the home, all of which could cause serious injury.  Many patients that suffer with degenerative conditions, such as dementia, are treated at the home. With a ‘philosophy’ that “aims to provide its Service Users with a secure, relaxed and homely environment”, the CQC demanded that “urgent action” is taken to improve its safety standards.

The mother of a young man who had dreamed of a career in the Royal Marines since a young age is suing them for over £1million after her son fell during a dangerous training exercise.  The exercise required the men to complete a high-level assault course called ‘Tarzan’.  When 19-year-old James Cobby reached the stage known as ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, he fell 7m hitting a high-tension cable on the way down.

New figures have revealed that Police officers receive an estimated £3million in compensation for minor injures every year.  Injuries in the last year ranged from officers falling off bikes to being bitten by dogs.  According to legislation, however, Police forces are only supposed to pay damages if more could have been done to prevent the accident from happening in the first place.  This would involve ensuring that the work environment was safe and that protective clothing suited the nature of the work.

A confidential report into the out-of-hours services in the Southern Health Trust has highlighted numerous concerns regarding the way that it operates.  One GP described going to work as “walking into hell”, with the out-of-hours service accommodating a culture of threats and harassment, and poor patient safety.  The information was gathered in a series of workshops which spoke to 32 out-of-hours doctors.  The workshops aimed to assess the overall opinion and morale of the staff involved in the service.

A member of staff at an industrial estate has been taken to court after one of his colleagues sustained serious burns from a plastic bottle filled with sulphuric acid.  Mark Mellard (46) had picked up the plastic bottle on his way out of work, which had been left unattended by the sink, before he felt it burning on his leg.  He disposed of the bottle and washed his leg with cold water. The severity of the burn damaged Mr Mellard’s nerve endings so he proceeded to walk his dog before going to hospital. 

A cyclist has been awarded a six-figure payout after he was left disabled following a hit-and-run accident.  Graham Andrews faced life-threatening injuries following his accident in 2008.  The force of the driver threw him eight feet into the air and he was left on the grass verge, while the driver sped off.  Mr Andrews is now wheelchair-bound and plans to use the compensation money to buy specialist equipment to assist his rehabilitation.

Following Saturday’s accident, which saw a woman viciously attacked by two dogs in Leominster, police have recognised that the number of dog attacks is on the rise.  The attack on Saturday saw the main victim airlifted to hospital, while a further two women were also significantly injured and required hospital treatment.  It was believed that the two dogs were a Bull Mastiff and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.  The woman remains in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in a stable condition.

A father-of-six nearly died after doctors repeatedly misdiagnosed his bowel damage for a stomach bug.  Stuart Pashley, from Clay Cross, Derbyshire, was denied treatment by NHS staff on multiple occasions, as doctors continued to diagnose him with a common stomach bug.  One doctor actually told Mr Pashley not to go to hospital as “sickness bugs can close hospital wards and kill people”.

A cancer patient has been given ‘enormous sympathy’ but no compensation for her cancer caused by asbestos expose in her workplace in the 1970s. 58-year-old Marie McGregor was 15 when she worked in Lewis’s Department Store in Liverpool. She had been employed by the British Shoe Corporation (BSC) which managed a concession there. 

New figures have revealed that the West Country is the most dangerous place to work in Britain.  A report has found that over 6,500 people were injured and 12 people died while working in the South West of England between 2012 and 2013 – a figure higher than anywhere else in the UK.

A report has revealed that there are three times as many hospital admissions for dog bites in England’s most deprived areas than in the least. The report was released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, which showed Merseyside to have the highest rate of dog attacks, accounting for 6,740 admissions - a figure up 6% on the previous year.  It also highlighted children to be the most common victims.

Newly released figures have revealed that school staff have been awarded a record of £26 million in compensation.  One teacher received £110,000 after tripping on a pothole in the driveway of the school she worked at. She is just one of the hundreds of school staff who have claimed for a work-related injury.